Software Automation Engineer

Ellison Institute of Technology; Oxford; On-site; GBP 100,000 - 125,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading research institute in Oxford seeks an Automation Engineer to innovate autonomous laboratory platforms. The role involves designing workflows, developing system integrations, and collaborating with diverse teams. Ideal candidates have a background in hardware automation, programming proficiency, and a collaborative spirit. Competitive benefits include enhanced holiday pay, private medical insurance, and a pension plan.

Benefits

Enhanced holiday pay

Pension

Life Assurance

Income Protection

Private Medical Insurance

Hospital Cash Plan

Theapy Services

Perk Box

Electric Car Scheme

Qualifications

• Experience in hardware automation engineering, e.g., automation engineering, biotechnology, robotics.
• Demonstrable track record of designing and deploying automation systems.
• Extensive experience adhering to software development best-practices.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement novel automated scientific workflows.
• Integrate laboratory hardware and software for cohesive systems.
• Collaborate within cross-functional teams for automation solutions.

Skills

Hardware automation engineering

Integrating lab instruments via communication protocols

Firmware level control

Programming in C/C++

Programming in Python

Education

University degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Robotics, or related field

Tools

Open-source libraries like PyLabRobot

Job description

Overview

The Ellison Institute of Technology (EIT) Oxford’s purpose is to have a global impact by fundamentally reimagining the way science and technology translate into end-to-end solutions and delivering these solutions in programmes and platforms that respond to humanity’s most challenging problems.

EIT Oxford will ensure scientific discoveries and pioneering science are turned into products for the benefit of society that can have high-impact worldwide and, over time, be commercialised to ensure long-term sustainability.

Led by a faculty of world experts, EIT seeks to solve the world’s most challenging problems across four high-risk, high-reward, high-impact humane endeavours: health and medical science; food security and sustainable agriculture; climate change and clean energy; and artificial intelligence & robotics.

EIT Oxford is investing significant resources in a new world-class research and development facility in the Oxford Science Park. Set for completion in 2027, the state-of-the-art campus includes 300,000 sq ft of research laboratories, an oncology and preventative care clinic, and educational and meeting spaces. Together, they create the perfect environment for EIT Oxford experts to take ground-breaking ideas from research to broad implementation. The new facility will further EIT’s current partnership with the University of Oxford and become the new home for Ellison Scholars.

EIT Oxford is committed to cultivating a community where excellence is achieved through collaboration, trust, innovation and tenacity. We foster an environment where everyone’s experience and expertise are valued. We are curious and resilient in our efforts to drive long-term, sustainable innovation to meet humanity’s most enduring challenges.

The Role

The Role: We\'re looking for an Automation Engineer to join our team in building the next generation of autonomous laboratory platforms. In this role, you\'ll be instrumental in designing automation workflows and developing software-to-hardware integrations that enable cutting-edge, self-driving science.

Day-to-Day, You Might:

• Design and implement novel automated scientific workflows, translating complex processes into scalable, repeatable protocols using robotics & relevant software
• Integrate laboratory hardware and software, exposing firmware capabilities through standardized interfaces to build a cohesive and robust system
• Contribute to the architectural design to ensure high reliability across all automation systems, following best practices for testing, monitoring, error handling, and performance tracking
• We look for engineers who can take systems apart, understand them deeply, and reimagine how they can be used to create innovative solutions
• Collaborate effectively within cross-functional team including scientific, technical, and operational colleagues to ensure automation solutions meet project and user needs
• Collaborate effectively within the developer team to build robust, scalable, and re-usable pipelines, maintaining high standard of code quality and transparency
• Work with external vendors to evaluate and deploy new technologies
• Document technical designs, implementation details, and trade-offs clearly for both technical and non-technical stakeholders

What Makes You a Great Fit

• Experience in hardware automation engineering, e.g., automation engineering, biotechnology, robotics, systems integration
• A demonstrable track record of designing and deploying automation systems in scientific or industrial environments in a robust manner, including success integrating robotics, peripherals, and/or mechanical automation systems, beyond the scope of commercial suppliers
• Expertise integrating lab instruments via communication protocols and experience orchestrating multiple devices
• Skilled in firmware level control, driver development, device discovery, and exposing firmware capabilities through standardized APIs
• Extensive experience adhering to software development best-practices, e.g., documentation, effective resources use, Git, PR reviews, etc
• Advanced skills in relevant programming languages such as C/C++ & Python
• A creative approach to automation—able to design workflows that don\'t simply mimic human lab practices

Great to Also Have

Nobody checks every box - if you’re not sure if you’re qualified, we still encourage you to apply.

• Proficiency in relevant open-source libraries like PyLabRobot
• Experience designing and building device twins
• A background in biotech, pharma, materials science, or other automation-intensive R&D
• A university degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Robotics, or a related field

Salary and Benefits

• Enhanced holiday pay
• Pension
• Life Assurance
• Income Protection
• Private Medical Insurance
• Hospital Cash Plan
• Theapy Services
• Perk Box
• Electric Car Scheme

Why work for EIT

At the Ellison Institute, we believe a collaborative, inclusive team is key to our success. We are building a supportive environment where creative risks are encouraged, and everyone feels heard. Valuing emotional intelligence, empathy, respect, and resilience, we encourage people to be curious and to have a shared commitment to excellence. Join us and make an impact!